GREENFINCH 383 
not found within the tropics, is known in the extreme south as a 
native of Australia and New Zealand. North America is credited 
with seven species of Grebes, of which three (P. cristatus, P. griseigena, 
and P. auritus) are admitted to be specifically inseparable from those 
already named, and two (P. occidentalis and P. californicus) appear 
to be but local forms; the remaining two, P. dominicus and P. 
ludovicianus, may, however, be accounted good species, and the last 
differs so much from other Grebes that many systematists make it 
the type of a distinct genus, Podilymbus. South America seems to 
possess four or five more species, one of which, the P. micropterus of 
Gould (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858, p. 220), has been separated from the 
genus Podicipes by Messrs. Sclater and Salvin (Lzot. Ornithology, 
p. 189, pl. xcv.), owing to the form of its bill, and the aborted con- 
dition of its wings, which seem to render it absolutely flightless. 
Lake Titicaca in Bolivia is, so far as is known at present, its only 
habitat. Grebes in general, though averse from taking wing, have 
much greater power of flight than would seem possible on examina- 
tion of their alar organs, and are capable of prolonged aerial 
journeys. Their plumage is short and close. Above it is com- 
monly of some shade of brown, but beneath it is invariably white, 
and so glossy as to be in much request for muffs and the trimming 
of ladies’ dresses. Some species are remarkable for the crests or 
tippets, generally of a golden-chestnut colour, they assume in the 
breeding season. JP. auritus is particularly remarkable in this 
respect, and when in its full nuptial attire presents an extraordinary 
aspect, the head (being surrounded, as it were, by a nimbus or 
aureole, such as that with which painters adorn saintly characters), 
reflecting the rays of light, and glittering with a glory that passes 
description. All the species seem to have similar habits of nidifica- 
tion. Water-weeds are pulled from the bottom of the pool, and 
piled on a convenient foundation, often a seminatant growth of bog- 
bean (Menyanthes), till they form a large mass, with a shallow cup 
in the centre, wherein the eggs, with a chalky white shell almost 
equally pointed at each end, are laid—the parent covering them, 
whenever she has time to do so, before leaving the nest. Young 
Grebes are beautiful objects, clothed with black, white, and brown 
hair, disposed in streaks, and their bill is often brilliantly tinted 
with orange or yellow. When taken from the nest and placed on 
dry ground, it is curious to observe the way in which they progress— 
using the wings almost as fore-feet, and suggesting the notion that 
they must be quadrupeds instead of birds (/éis, 1889, p. 577). In 
water, however, they equal if not surpass their parents in the power 
of diving, which is a special accomplishment of all Grebes. 
GREENFINCH (German Griinfink) or Green Linnet, as it is 
very often called. a common European bird, the Fringilla chloris of 
